Chapter 19
Three weeks later, Street watched Rosa walk out of the large, industrial building.
She’d refused to allow him to accompany her inside, wanting to be independent.
He loved her fire but worried about her safety.
The first few sessions, Street had remained in the borrowed truck after dropping his Little girl off during Rosa’s two-hour class.
Fury had collected information about several plumbing programs. His conversations with other experts in the field had led him to recommend this applied plumbing coursework. Rosa had interviewed at three different places. Two had other women enrolled. This school currently only had men registered.
Street had worried that Rosa was making the wrong choice, but she was steadfast that this was the school she wanted to attend. Since he hadn’t picked up on any negativity from the instructors they’d spoken with about female students, he’d encouraged her to make the decision.
He had required her to wear an easily accessible panic button every day.
Rosa hadn’t protested but had simply rolled her eyes at his overprotectiveness and attached the device to her T-shirt.
Street had also insisted on driving and picking her up.
Sometimes alone, sometimes with a whole posse of Devil Daddies.
The MC had made an impression. Not the one he’d expected.
A bunch of the students had approached eagerly to share pictures of their bikes and to ask about membership.
Her class of fifteen other students had even met twice at Inferno.
Once for fun at night and another time during the quiet of the afternoon to study together.
As far as he knew, none of the men targeted Rosa for being a woman.
They definitely hadn’t been stupid enough to try to date her.
When she spotted him getting out of the truck to open the door for her, Rosa’s steps quickened.
She smiled and waved as her backpack bounced against her spine.
Seeing her face light up at seeing him thrilled him.
Just as her presence made him automatically happier, he seemed to have the same effect on her. His Little girl was absolutely perfect.
When Rosa reached up to grab her backpack to hand it to him, Street spotted a large gauze bandage on her finger. Instantly, he took the bag from her and kissed her lips lightly before helping her into the passenger seat.
“What happened?” he asked, standing between the truck body and the open door.
“My stupidity.”
“Pardon me?”
“John, the teacher, warned all of us to be careful as we heated the pipes before adding the fittings. I thought he was worried about the piping. You know, like don’t put a scorch mark on it.”
“Let me guess. He was alerting you that when the material got hot you could burn yourself?”
“See, you understood. I was stupid. Everyone else figured that out too. I got one speck of melted plastic on my finger and I screamed like a… well, like a girl.”
“The other students didn’t make fun of you, did they?” Street asked, scowling toward the others in her class who had emerged.
“Stop looking mean, Daddy. No, they instantly jumped into action. One rushed me over to the sink to pour cold water over my hand while another alerted John that I had done the exact thing he told us not to do. I wish the floor had opened up and swallowed me. John was so nice. He treated my finger and told me someone always gets hurt after his warning. Usually, the injury is much worse. He said I probably saved one of the guys from an extremely serious accident.”
“How bad is it?” Street asked, concerned by the large bandage.
“He said to have a doctor check out the burn. Do you think Razor could see me?”
“Definitely. I’ll call him. Does your finger hurt?”
“Yeah. John offered me some aspirin from the medical kit, but those tablets make my stomach queasy.”
“Razor can help with that too.”
“Not a shot,” she whined.
“Razor will tell us what you need. He probably has a pill to go in your bottom.”
“A shot would be okay,” she said quickly, making him laugh as he swiped through his phone contacts.
“Hey, Razor. Can you squeeze Rosa in to look at her finger? She touched melted plastic in class today.”
“Ouch. Of course. Come directly here so I can check on the damage,” Razor said.
“On our way.”
Street disconnected from the call and winked at his Little girl. “He’s sharpening a needle as we speak.”
“He did not say that!” Rosa challenged, leaning toward him out of the cab.
“You’re right. He didn’t. Sit back so I can close the door, Little girl.”
She flounced against the truck seat allowing Street to secure her inside.
“Feel better, Rosa!” another student called to her.
Rosa waved.
Street slid behind the wheel and started the engine. He patted Rosa’s leg before reversing the truck and heading toward Razor’s office. “So, what did you learn today?”
“To ask questions if I don’t understand. Like if I’d raised my hand to find out what exactly would burn us, I wouldn’t have allowed that plastic to hit my skin.”
“Good idea. I already think you have mastered that lesson. You’ll never forget how melted, super-hot plastic feels.
I figured out quickly that I needed to do as the instructor said and started swinging wide around a corner after almost ripping a wall out with the treads on a forklift.
Mistakes happen to everyone. Sometimes, that’s the best way to learn. ”
“You messed up in machinery school?”
“Constantly. Turns out popping wheelies with heavy machinery is mostly impossible.”
“You tried that?” Rosa asked with an incredulous expression.
“More than once.”
“Okay, I feel better. I just have a sizzled finger. You had to pass that wall for at least a day before they fixed it.”
“Two weeks. I had some challenges getting enough money to repair it,” Street said. “Sheet rockers don’t work cheap.”
“Maybe I should have checked out that specialty. They get to walk on stilts, don’t they?”
“Some do. We’ll see if you think you should change when I put the Sheetrock up in our house next week.”
She was quiet for a few minutes before asking, “A tough job, huh?”
“Heavy work.” Street smiled at her, enjoying their conversation. He had a feeling their blue-collar jobs would be one more link between them. Though the Daddy thing ruled over everything else. She’d always be his Little girl.
“I’ll stick with plumbing. I like it. Even when I’m dealing with sludge.”
He winced, considering what she called sludge, and changed the subject. “What other skills did you tackle today?”
Listening and commenting on the details of the topics, Street navigated through the traffic, returning to Inferno. The rumble of motorcycles behind him made Street check his rearview mirror. Green caught his eye.
“Get down on the floorboards, Little girl,” he snapped, interrupting her.
Rosa didn’t hesitate or ask questions. She unfastened her seatbelt and folded herself into a ball, cowering next to the dashboard. Peeking up at him, she asked, “What’s going on?”
“The Ravagers are coming up behind us. They don’t seem to be focused on us, but I’m not taking any chances.” His mind raced as he hit a button on his phone that called Lucien directly. The MC President answered on the first ring.
“Street. Are you and Rosa safe?”
Boggled slightly that the enigmatic man knew he had his Little girl with him and that they were off Devil Daddies’ property, Street hesitated. He put the phone on speaker and set the device in a cupholder.
“Street. Can you talk to me?” Lucien’s voice had softened to a low growl, as if he thought Street couldn’t respond.
“Lucien, we’re okay. I’m on the highway, heading back to Inferno in one of the unmarked trucks from the warehouse. The Ravagers are coming up behind us at a rapid pace.”
“I see you. Truck fourteen. How many Ravagers?”
He didn’t give himself time to process that Lucien could track him. “Over twenty bikes. They’re going somewhere fast.”
“Pull into the second lane on the right. Hopefully, they’ll swarm to the pass lanes on the left. The sun should be coming from that direction. Pull the visor down and flip it over to the left side. Make sure you can still see your mirrors. Keep your speed with the traffic.”
Street followed the directions as they came to him. The visor now stretched across the driver’s side window, partially concealing him. Street tried to watch his mirrors without bobbling his head around to reveal that he had spotted them and was worried.
“Are they coming, Daddy?”
“They’re at my rear bumper, Rosa. Stay as small as you can make yourself.”
Rosa curled her head down. In his peripheral vision, he could see her shaking. His arms ached to hold her as his anger built. He could swerve to either side and take out at least six bikers. Gritting his teeth, he stayed in his lane and tried to appear unbothered.
“Street, Pirate has hacked into the camera system on the highway. He isn’t getting a clear picture of the cuts. Could the group be from out of town?”
“No way. I can see the Ravager colors.”
Giving up on trying to appear as if he hadn’t noticed them, Street slowed down as if the swarm that currently drove on both sides and behind him intimidated him.
The bikers jeered as they sped past him.
Street avoided meeting anyone’s gaze directly as he checked them out.
He didn’t recognize the men. Had the Ravagers brought in a slew of members?
“Lucien, I think these are new recruits.”
Gritting his teeth, Street controlled his urge to yank the steering wheel both ways to eliminate the Ravagers. The crowded highway created too many witnesses. He also didn’t want to traumatize his Little girl. Her safety was more important than anything else.
After passing him, the Ravagers swerved dangerously close to the front bumper as they moved in front of him.
Street controlled his first inclination to stomp on the brakes.
The motorcyclists didn’t linger in that dangerous location ahead of the truck but sped up immediately as if their goal was to scare him and then avoid an accident.
Smart. In a battle between a truck and a motorcycle, bikers didn’t win.
The other cars and trucks slowed as well.
Traffic snarled around him as other drivers became panicked by the motorcyclists who lane split, steering between the vehicles as a sudden backup occurred.
A man in front of him jerked his steering wheel to the left as a motorcycle came within an inch of his car while the biker rode along the dotted white lane.
The biker on the other side whacked his fist into the driver’s window.
Street had to screech to a stop as the sedan’s driver in front of him panicked and slammed on his brakes.
Street struggled to control the truck as its rear end fishtailed.
Thankfully, he avoided striking the car.
The bikers zoomed around him, disappearing into the traffic jam they had created.
“Are you hurt, Dinorosa?” Street asked.
“I’m fine, Daddy. Can we go home?” she asked in a small voice that wrenched his heart out and pissed Street off again.
If he could only get his hands on the Ravagers….
“Are you both okay, Street?” Lucien said brusquely. The MC President had remained on the line with Street the entire time.
“Stuck in a Ravager-created parking lot,” Street answered quickly. “No accidents that I see. They raised everyone’s blood pressure with their antics. Oh, great. A news station’s helicopter flew over. This fiasco will appear on the local news. All bikers will be viewed as the problem.”
“The Devil Daddies will weather any storm that comes our way. Can you get to Razor’s?” Lucien asked.
Street didn’t ask how Lucien had discovered their appointment with the MC’s doctor. The president had his thumb on the pulse of the MC. “Hey, thanks for being there.”
“I will always answer when you or your Little calls,” Lucien assured him. “You did the right thing. We had people coming to help.”
“A police car just showed up.”
“He’s not there for you,” Lucien said. “Pirate triggered twenty-three reports of motorcycle misconduct in your area.”
“Tell him thanks from us,” Rosa said softly.
“Will do, Little girl. Buckle yourself into the passenger seat,” Lucien ordered.
“How does he know?” Rosa whispered.
“I know everything, Rosa. Come on home. We’re waiting for you,” Lucien announced.
Street disconnected and offered Rosa his hand to hold her uninjured one after she had secured herself in the seat. “Home sounds like a good place to me.”
“It does, Daddy.”
“How’s the finger?”
“I have no idea,” she answered before laughing at that ridiculous statement.
Street chuckled with her and squeezed her hand. “Love you, Little girl. Thank you for following my directions. I needed to know you were safe.”
“You take such good care of me, Daddy.”
He lost more of his heart to her. Street lifted her hand to his lips as he concentrated on the traffic that had eased in front of them. The Devil Daddies would have to take the Ravagers out completely as soon as possible. He had a feeling Lucien already had a plan.